Anchor Pub & Grille

This is one of the worst restaurants I have ever went to. I would give it zero stars if possible. The place is dirty and the tables are packed in like sardines. I ordered the nachos for dinner. The cheese was crusty and barely melted. The jalepeno peppers tasted canned and the beef tasted like it was cooked in the microwave. My father order the fish with green beans. He said the fish tasted like it was frozen and it was super over cooked. My father asked the waiter if the green beans were fresh and he said yes. When they came out I swear they looked grey and tasted awful. Never go here this is an awful restaurant.

Came in here recently for Saturday breakfast with some coworkers while I was passing through the North Shore…
Pros: Stiff and inexpensive drinks — a well poured Tito’s Bloody ran us just over $ 5 each.
Cons: Service is spotty. Food is nothing to write home about. Bartenders keep forgetting what they’re supposed be doing for you.
Do watch out for the occasional locals with jelly for brains who want to fight you over a couple curse words you might have said in conversation. My coworker dropped a couple F bombs at the Anchor, which shouldn’t surprise anybody, but this mongrel oaf who sat next to us got all hot and bothered and wanted to fight him. Mind you, the guy was high or drunk or had half his brain cavity removed from a surgical accident. The guy could barely sit up straight, hold his fork in his hand like a normal adult, or even eat his food. The bartenders served him anyways! His girlfriend kept pulling at him telling him «don’t do it» — who goes picking fights at noontime on a Saturday? Oh yea, degenerates do. By the time she finally dragged his ass out of the bar because he couldn’t function anymore, they left without paying their bill!
The Anchor gives credence to concept of a «dive bar» — beware!

The best seafood for the best price! Hometown local feeling, very casual, one of those places where the locals go and not the tourist.

We have always enjoyed coming to the Anchor. Watching the people and chatting at the bar are almost as good as the food. The lobster roll is huge, steak tip salad is very good, buffalo chicken tenders are huge. We have not had a bad meal here until tonight… my husband ordered the baked chicken with mushroom sauce and it came out cool with a gelatinous cold sauce on top. The wait staff was kind and replaced it with a burger. My pork chop was good, side potatoes were a bit burned, but edible. Sad to give a «meh» review, hopefully next time will be better…

5 stars for affordability
3 stars for taste. Would rather spend my money at wrapture or qdoba. I ordered a cheeseburger with chili. Chili was very interesting, I liked it. My bun was stale though. Be ordered a steak sub. Steak was super tough, definitely couldn’t eat it as a sub. His sub was stale too. Steak lacked seasoning. Was very busy on a Thursday night. Definitely mostly locals. My bf and I brought the average age down by 15 years. Lol. Service was adequate. Kind of ridiculous that they don’t’ take any electronic payment, only cash. I was prepared for that, but I don’t understand how any business can make any money with just cash. It alienates the younger generation. Took the last parking spot so i think parking is a little tight. Will not be back.

Went here for first time last Friday good drinks good people employees and patrons… Played pool on a decent table and had good sticks. Drinks are strong and cheap. Hear the food was good will try next time. Thanks for a good time!

This place was great. If you remember the show Cheers, you will see the resemblance in atmosphere almost right off the bat. First place I had a lobster roll, it tasted fine, but I’ve nothing to compare it to as yet.
I feel like the patrons really make this place; definitely sit at the bar and help solve all the worlds problems over a few beers
FYI, they ONLY take cash, but there is an ATM there.

Its a bar. It serves drinks. It also serves bar food. If you want haute cuisine, this ain’t the place… go somewhere else and spend three times the dough. We love the place but we also don’t expect it to be anything that its not… its a townie bar. Filled with townies. Get over it.

Great local casual spot by the Salem/​Beverly bridge. Cash only, with an ATM inside. Food is just good New England homestyle seafood, nothing fancy, VERY affordable. Twin lobsters less than $ 15! You can get scallops, lobster, shrimp, haddock, etc baked, fried, broiled, throw some butter and lemon on and you’re good to go! Drinks are also made strong. One of my favorite low-​key inexpensive spots when I’m in the area.

Where to start? Well first off, if you are not from MA and want to drink, not sure you can as there is a sign saying «MA ID’S Only». Wonder what these guys did to earn that privilege? Moving on, it doesn’t get much better. No one ever gave us menus, so we ordered off a whiteboard that looked like it was created by a 10 year old. The pressure was on because every few minutes they’d erase one of the entrees as if they were running out of food.
We finally flagged the waitstaff. We ordered crab cakes (ok), broiled haddock (garbage), fried clams (adequate), fried flounder (nothing special) and a lobster (good). Sides where unimpressive, especially the french fries.
I’d put up with the poor service and crummy décor for a good experience. But it wasn’t a good experience at all. There is a 7 – 11 around the corner, I’ll just get some nachos the next time I’m hungry in that neighborhood.

Many of the reviews I read through give the Anchor a hard time. Adjust your expectations. While we were waiting to be seated in the dining area (in a Saturday night I wasn’t expecting 5 minute seat times) I observed the beauty of the Anchor. There were the were people from all walks of life enjoying the place. Multi-​generational families in the dining room– couples young an older at the bar eating– girlfriends having a drink– fisherman enjoying a beer and some seafood. It was neither pretentious or too ‘divey’.
The bartenders were so busy they never stopped moving. The food was moving out of the kitchen and being served and eaten. what more did you want? Yes, it is cash only but likely keeps the prices reasonable. The do have a heavy pour but I haven’t had a drink at that price since 1985.
Our meal– with critical out-​of-​towners– was generously portioned, well seasoned and obviously fresh. I live local so I skipped the obvious seafood and judged the steak tips (marinated). Well worth the $ 10.95– tender, flavorful and plenty of them. My guests shared a special of short ribs with onion gravy– also well seasoned, flavorful and yummy! To find crab cakes for $ 5 is unheard of– I live in Marblehead where you can’t touch them for less than $ 11.
They may be a little understaffed– needing an updating in the décor department– but really, this place is a gem! I felt like I could become a regular — it had the feeling of what the TV show Cheers portrayed.
Can’t wait to go again to try the fired clams.

Went back and ended up getting really sick from the food.

Still my go to for Tips and fried clams! The anchor is not for everyone, and not for every occasion, so before you decide to venture over there are a few things to keep in mind:
You will wait for your food, period.
It is NOTHING fancy (both food & service)
It is cash Only.
Their bests: Steak tips, lobsters, pizza,
Best specials (when available): seafood pie, fried oysters, fried clams, meatloaf
If this is what you are looking for, take a trip on over. If not, try something else.

Cheap food, but you get what you pay for. Oh, and you get to wait nearly an hour from the time you order it til it arrives. The fare is simple and straightforward too as you would expect at a place like this, and isn’t that good, so there is no excuse for how long takes to arrive. Save your time and go elsewhere

Food is decent for the price, Drinks are super cheap. Good luck if your trying to get in with an out of state Id. I had to use my passport to get in. They also only accept cash. My advice go to the black lobster instead.

The food is good, but service is slow. The young bus boy was dreadful! Rude … well, see full details below:
Pros:
— delicious crab cakes, baked scallops, and baked haddock
— strong drinks, not consistently made, but strong
— where the locals eat (they call each other by name)
— GREAT prices
Cons:
— severely understaffed
— long wait
— bus boy who served HORRENDOUS — just trying to get on your last nerve
— décor is a bit run down and tacky, but that’s me being picky
— women’s bathroom was filthy

Anyone that gives this place a bad rating is just a miserable human being. You will not find a cheaper or better dive (w Food) in New England. And I’ve been to a lot of dives in my day. Atmosphere is terrific, service is sometimes slow — but very worth the wait. Probably because the place is freaking packed every minute of every hour of every day.
My family and friends live 40 miles away and come down here At Least once every two weeks just to go to the anchor with me. How they give such generous portions is beyond me? And their drinks are stiff stiff stiff. Haters going to hate — anyone that hates on the anchor is EXACTLY the person the rest of us logical, sensible, regular folks don’t want in our joint.
Beat it!

It was decent food and the service wasn’t bad around lunch time. However, Ive been to other Bars/​Pubs whose menus are not extensive but definitely have gourmet flair. I had a sandwich there and i cant really remember what it was, but it was not memorable if that sheds any light.

Ok, the food is great and cheap, but unless you have an entire evening to kill here, skip it. As the following time quotes go for food and service, I work in the industry so I’m very careful not to exaggerate.
I popped in by myself and sat at the bar. 5 full minutes to order a drink. Another 10+ to order food.
My stuffed clam was good for $ 2.25. Basically stove top stuffing mixed with clam. It was good, but took about 20 minutes to arrive. My lobster roll and French fries (hardly any cooking required) was a solid 40 minutes from order time. It’s a great size for $ 16.50, but I should have just followed my first thought and got a steak bomb at engine house pizza
Really bummed out because otherwise this is a great place

While you may not receive an upscale dining experience at the Anchor, you’ll certainly receive decently priced food and drinks and a low key atmosphere.
Though we normally go to the Anchor for drinks with friends, I had the opportunity last weekend to actually eat in at the restaurant side. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The lobster was good, the chowder was fresh, and the entire meal (a meal that included multiple lobsters, crab, scallops, shrimp, and ciders) was well under what I expected when the bill came.
I think I even asked the server if she remembered to charge us for everything.
If you’re looking for a fun local dive with decent food and a fisherman-​esque atmosphere, definitely check out the Anchor.